Warblade
The warblade was born for conflict. Swift, strong, enduring, and utterly confident in his martial skills, he seeks to test himself against worthy foes. Battle is beautiful to him -- a perfect moment in which life hangs suspended on the bright edge of a sword. Sheer combat skill is important to a warblade, so he trains intensely with his chosen weapons. But even more important are his athleticism, endurance, daring, recklessness, and joy in the hour of danger. Warblades, often called sword princes, live for the chance to test themselves in battle -- the stronger the foe, the greater the glory once an enemy is defeated. Fighting When fighting, you rely on an ever-increasing repertoire of spectacular martial powers, maneuvers and stanses. Depending on which disciplines you choose to study, you might be a mongoose-swift skirmisher who uses speed as your sword and shield, a fierce master of blades, or a bold commander who leads your allies into battle. Your maneuvers are the signature moves that serve to define your character. Regardless of the path you choose, you acquire a modest number of bonus feats that make you quicker, more agile, and more athletic than most other warriors. Combat You revel in melee. Your place is battling face to face with vrocks and umber hulks, where you can deal maximum damage while keeping such monsters away from the softer targets in your own party. You make good use of your various battle-keyed abilities to give yourself an important edge in combat. Although these abilities might not be as physically impressive as a barbarian's rage, they can grant a significant boost to defense, as well as situational bonuses on attack and damage rolls. Unlike rage, your class features carry no fatigue penalty. Your lack of proficiency with heavy armor is both a blessing and a curse -- it allows you to enter combat quickly but leaves you vulnerable to the enemy. Consider taking feats such as Improved Toughness (see Complete Warrior) to increase your ability to soak up damage and partially offset your lack of heavy armor. Choose bonus feats that enhance your capabilities (such as Blind-Fight or Improved Initiative) or bolster your weaknesses (such as Iron Will). You consider swordplay to be high art, and a martial maneuver to be the artist's signature on his masterpiece. Learning many maneuvers in one discipline generally makes you more lethal in combat than a warblade who learns a few maneuvers from each of several disciplines. This phenomenon stems from the fact that taking many maneuvers from one discipline while largely ignoring the rest lets you master higher-level maneuvers sooner. You gain only thirteen maneuvers over the course of twenty levels, so make your choices carefully. Warblades in the World Warblades live by muscle and steel, but their interaction with the campaign world is not limited to trading sword slashes for talon rakes. These characters are keenly aware of their social standing, and for them, glory and honor are at least as important as gold and gems. Because these precious intangibles cannot be won by strength of blade alone, warblades constantly find themselves embroiled in liaisons with generals, kings, princesses, archprelates, and others who can confer the honor of an entire society upon a victorious hero. The whispers of courtesans, the badinage of bards, and the wit of aristocrats can be as significant to a warblade's career as the giants and phase spiders of the Sunspire Mountains -- and even more ferocious. Warblades in adventuring parties must strike a balance between group and individual goals. Ideally, the party's path guarantees the warblade both the thrill of combat and the laurels of an acclaimed hero. In cases where only one or the other is possible (such as a stealth mission to extirpate a reth dekala cell operating in embarrassingly high government circles, or a crucial escort mission in which the danger comes not from flashing swords but from the wayward nature of a dauphin), the warblade must bide his time and accept the need to sacrifice one objective for another. Never for long, however, does a prince of the sword allow himself to forgo tasting the heady rush of combat and the sweet adulation of the multitudes. Daily Life A warblade must train constantly to maintain his puissance. Thus, much of his day is spent working through forms, jabbing at wooden effigies, and swinging weighted swords. Many warblades are affiliated with sword temples or dojos that allow them space to practice. While out adventuring, a prince of swords often spends his time at night on watch practicing his breathing exercises and stretches. The character taking the next watch is likely to wake and find his predecessor in the trees, meditating with measured breaths and supported only by a branch under each far-flung ankle. Once he has reached a respectable level of accomplishment, a warblade might take the Leadership feat and begin teaching his own pupils at a school -- either his previous academy or one he has founded. Teaching allows a warblade to prove his worth to many students on a daily basis -- and the more prestigious they are, the better. Nobles' daughters and sons are highly sought-after students. A positive word from them, placed in the right ear, can earn a warblade honor, a royal audience, or even an honor guard and a ship for his next journey. Notables Famous warblades fall into two categories: those who recruit followers to found a sword temple or form an adventuring band, and those who operate independently. Among the warblades who have founded their own schools, the one known as the Bright Annis is famous for her merciless training techniques. Fewer than one in ten of her students manage to complete her tutelage. Many perish while sparring with their instructors or are lost in Bright Annis's ferocious quest for the heads of drow, whom she blames for the death of a lover long ago. Among the warblades who refuse to tie themselves to a particular school or demesne are Allek Thrazt, an outcast of the hobgoblin masters of the Iron Heart school. He is known to trade his former school's secrets for bright gold. The charcoal-skinned dwarf sword prince Mardilkuthor Pwarna is the scourge of the Seekers of Reshar (a group that hopes to rediscover the Nine Swords and hasten Reshar's return). Whether Mardilkuthor's motive is fear, jealousy, or an agenda he has managed to conceal even from the Sage of Snow and Shadow, the dwarf reportedly hunts down martial adepts who seek to reunite the Nine Swords. Organizations Because of their independent and sometimes downright chaotic natures, many warblades refuse to join traditional, hierarchical organizations, though they are not averse to the greater glory of founding one. Thus, some warblade-created organizations have one or more warblades in a leadership position, while the rank and file consists of fighters, rangers, and bards, who can record the deeds of the organization's leaders. Mardilkuthor Pwarna has built up a network of spies, assassins, and rangers across the Sunspire Mountains and the Deluge Jungle. These individuals meet in concealed safe houses, tree blinds, and mountainside caves in the peaks gathered at the skirts of the Mother Mountain, Koshtra Amnorn. Members of this organization can advance through the capture of any adepts seeking the Nine Swords, but Mardilkuthor maintains an iron grip on command. The Bright Annis welcomes all princes of the sword to her open-air dojo in the southern fens of the Deluge Jungle. A consummate teacher, she is harsh even by warblade standards. Her students are regularly required to make forays into the dark places beneath the earth to hunt dark elves. Any warblade who slays large numbers of drow is guaranteed advancement. Countless other warblade organizations rise and fall according to the mercurial fortunes of individual sword princes. Most of these movements are dedicated to the greater glory of their founders, although a fair number are, ostensibly at least, focused on amassing coin or arcane power. Because the warlike natures of their leaders guarantee a high casualty rate, most such organizations are always eager for new blood. Races The stoic, taciturn, clan-oriented mindset of dwarves is anathema to the free-thinking, brash, and individualist warblade. But even so, a surprising number of dwarves (often outcasts from their clans) choose to take up this path. Conversely, warblades are often admired by the more gregarious races, including humans, halflings, and gnomes, for their life-on-the-edge, devil-may-care attitude. Other Classes Fighters, paladins, and other front-line fighters welcome warblades as brothers in steel. Mages, however, are often suspicious of warblades and tend to give them a wide berth. Rogues often see warblades as useful muscle, so eager for glory and gold that they can easily be duped. In the absence of other motives, most classes and races regard warblades with a cautious and hesitant eye. The chaotic and individualist nature of warblades means that they sometimes make unreliable companions, and no one wants to be caught in the Sunspires while the party's warblade pouts in his tent, unsatisfied with his split of the last battle's loot. Warblade Lore Characters with ranks in Gather Information or Knowledge (nobility and royalty) can research warblades and learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including the information from lower DCs. DC 10: A warblade is a fighter with delusions of immortality. These glory-hounds think they can live forever in a bard's song! DC 15: Warblades walk the Sublime Way, and few can match their skill with weapons. A warblade can learn combat maneuvers from many different disciplines, so you can't guess the strengths or weaknesses of any warblade you face in battle. He might move with the speed of thought, tumble like a boulder through your ranks, or attack with the savagery of a beast. DC 20: A warblade tends to be a chaotic creature. His downfall is his pride -- he cannot abide an affront to his prestige. The promise of honor and the laurels of a city are often enough to entice a warblade to risk his life. An enterprise's possible reward -- be it glory or gold -- is much more important to a warblade than the potential risks, which he often disregards completely. Warblade Alternate Class Features :Main article: Warblade Alternate Class Features The Features a Warblade can take. Category:Warblades Category:Martial adept classes